New Delhi, Jan 26 (PTI) The North Delhi Municipal Corporation (NDMC) has been certified "Open Defecation Free" by the government, the civic body said on Wednesday. A city or ward could be declared open-defecation-free if, at any point of the day, not a single person is found defecating or urinating in the open, and all community and public toilets are functional and well-maintained. The NDMC has got "open defecation free" (ODF+) certificate from Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, NDMC Commissioner Sanjay Goel was quoted as saying in a statement issued by the civic body. He said a "third-party inspection" conducted by IQVIA on behalf of the Union ministry. This exercise was part of the nationwide Swachh Bharat Mission Urban 2.0 (SBM) and the inspection took place between December 14-17, he added. IQVIA team surveyed 44 spots such as community toilet blocks, public toilets etc in areas falling in the jurisdiction of NDMC and amalgam of slums, residential colonies and markets, and "found no evidence of human excreta lying in the open, the report states," the civic body said. "The team found community toilets, public toilets and stand-alone urinals very clean and aspirational," the statement said. The commissioner said it is the collective effort of all the officials of NDMC who worked day and night to get the ODF+ tag. He said that it was very challenging despite demography and population density here. "We had to not just clean and maintain the quality of toilets, but change people"s mindset. We held meetings with RWAs, market associations, and other representatives, organised workshops for officials also. This ODF+ certificate would also motivate officials to improve ranking in Swachh Survekshan 2022 as compared to last year," he said. PTI KND AAR AAR